LPGA tournament volunteers say experience is priceless

Connie Bainbridge, a volunteer, holds up a 'Hush Y'all' sign as players finish on the 18th Hole during the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic on the Senator Course of Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill in Prattville, Ala..(Photo: Lloyd Gallman/Advertiser)Buy Photo

"Don't ever question the value of volunteers. Noah's Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by professionals."

– Unknown

Milt Livingston remembers a friend who was "incredulous" when he learned Livingston had paid to be a volunteer at the first Buy.com golf tournament at Capitol Hill in Prattville in 2001.

The tournament was a developmental men's tour event, and few in the area even knew what Buy.com was much less a golf tournament with that name.

"He just laughed at the idea," Livingston said this week as he eyes yet another volunteer opportunity next month at Capitol Hill.

The Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic is scheduled for Aug. 27-30 on the par-72 Senator course, and Livingston wouldn't miss it for anything.

He'll be one of the "walking scorers" again, the volunteer position he's filled every year since there's been a golf tournament at Prattville. He liked it so much that first year, he also began going to Birmingham every year to work the Champions Tour event there.

"No matter what committee you work for, volunteering is a wonderful experience," said Livingston, an ad salesman for The Montgomery Advertiser until he retired in 2012.

"The women golfers who come to Prattville seem nicer than the men, and more approachable. They often bring their family, and I believe the LPGA maintains a sitting service and tutors for their kids at the tournaments. Every time I work a round, I can tell who the pros' families and friends are.

"It's fun to make friends with them, then root for their girls."

Livingston remembers the first time he looked over the possible volunteer committees that first year.

"Way down at the bottom was 'walking scorers.' The description said I would get to walk down the fairways with these great golfers, inside the ropes and keep score for them," he said. "That excited me.

"Then I read that, yes, I would have to pay to volunteer, which included getting a hat, shirt, a bunch of free tickets for my friends and a free round of golf later in the year at Capitol Hill. I thought, 'where would I ever get a chance to do all that for just a few bucks?' The round of golf alone would be worth that.

"This deal was and is the best chance a hacker like me would ever have to get close up and personal with pro golfers."

Dick Vaughn knows exactly how Livingston feels. Vaughn has been the chair of the Walking Scorers Committee at Prattville tournaments for so many years, some of his longtime volunteers call him "Fearless Leader."

He said Livingston's experience is not unusual. It's the norm.

"People who volunteer for this job love it," Vaughn said. "They come back year after year, and they volunteer at other tournaments such as the Champions Tour in Birmingham and (now) the Barbasol PGA in Opelika.

"At Prattville, we get walking scorers from all over Alabama and across the country. They come from Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, California, Tennessee, Louisiana, New Mexico, Hawaii and Florida."

The big attraction of this committee, Vaughn said, is what Livingston mentioned: Volunteers walk inside the ropes along with the golfers. The scorer's job is to record each shot the players hit using a hand-held device. The data is then transmitted to the scoring trailer, which relays the information to the media and the various scoreboard operators on the course.

"We get to see the play up close and hear some of the dialog between players and caddies," Vaughn said. "Although scorers aren't supposed to talk to the players unless they start the conversation, many of the ladies do like to chat occasionally."

Both Livingston and Vaughn learned early on this particular volunteer job has a perk: the players customarily give the scorers a signed ball.

"I now have four fishbowls full of them, collected from all my rounds," Livingston said. "But my main prize is a signed glove from Natalie Gulbis, which she gave me after I scored for her group one year.

"My, oh my."

As for that doubting friend years ago, Livingston got the last laugh.

"He swallowed his laughter when I showed him my signed golf balls," Livingston said, "and he was only too happy to accept an invitation to play with me on the golf round that I earned."

There are 20 volunteer committees ranging from marshals to standard bearers. To sign up, go to www.yokohamatirelpgaclassic.com, click on "Volunteer" at the top of the page and scroll down to see all the committee choices. Then click on "Register" to sign up.

Numerous volunteer positions are still open, Vaughn said. Many positions are needed for the full week, working with pretournament activities.